T 


VV\  \S  CL^ ' 


feiERN  Theological  Seminary^ 

AND 

FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


GRANT,  Fj^ES  &  RODGERS, 
ELECTKOTYPERS  AND  PRINTERS, 


PHILADELPHIA 


WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINART 


AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


A  Paper  read  at  the  Meeting  of  the  Alumni,  North 
Presbyterian  Church,  Alleghany,  Pa.,  April  19,  1877, 

By  JOHN  C.  LOWRIE. 


The  service  assigned  to  me  for  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary,  is  ‘Ho  deliver  an  address  noting 
its  zeal  and  influence  in  Foreign  Missions,  and  the  work  of  its  alumni 
in  the  cause.”  There  are  two  parts  of  this  wide  theme,  you  will 
perceive,  but  they  both  belong  to  the  one  subject  of  the  place 
occupied  by  this  Seminary  in  Foreign  Missions.  To  understand  this 
place  rightly,  we  must  go  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  missionary 
and  seminary  movement  in  this  part  of  the  Church;  trace  its  progress, 
and  consider  its  benign  results.  To  do  justice  to  so  large  a  subject  in 
a  few  minutes  is  of  course  impossible,  while  yet  some  practical 
views  of  it  admit  of  brief  statement.  Apart  from  the  difficulty  of 
doing  justice  to  so  large  a  theme,  I  find  the  embarrassment  of  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  the  beloved  brethren,  Drs.  Brownson  and  Elliot 
Swift,  whose  admirable  papers  in  the  Me7noridl  Volume  have  pre¬ 
occupied  the  ground.  They  were  the  fresh  and  vigorous  reapers ;  I 
can  only  be  a  gleaner.  And  yet  a  gleaner  may  hope  to  gather  up  golden 
grain  that  might  otherwise  be  lost. 

3 


3414 


4 


WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


I.  I  would  first  ask  your  attention  to  the  common  origin  of  this 
Seminary  and  of  our  work  of  Foreign  Missions  as  organized  under  the 
direction  of  the  Church.  We  may  reverently  trace  its  high  origin  to 
the  forerunning  grace  of  God,  foreordaining  the  existence  of  both 
from  eternity;  but  we  may  also  speak  of  its  origin  in  the  means 
employed,  the  labors,  self-denials,  prayers,  and  faith  of  the  men  that 
laid  the  foundations  of  our  Western  Pennsylvania  Church.  It  is  to 
the  piety  of  our  Christian  people,  in  what  was  then  this  frontier  country, 
that  we  owe  numberless  blessings,  and  among  them  this  Theological 
School  and  a  large  part  of  our  Foreign  Missionary  Work.  Their 
religious  views  combined  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  high  doctrines 
of  divine  sovereignty  in  grace  with  a  deeply  inner  experience  of  their 
power.  Those  whose  privilege  it  is  to  remember  the  preaching  of  the 
earlier  ministers  of  this  region  will  agree  with  me  in  saying  that  we 
hardly ‘ever  heard  a  sermon  that  was  not  doctrinal  in  its  whole  tenor, 
based  on  the  exposition  of  Scripture,  and  that  was  not  at  the  same 
time  discriminating,  searching,  and  practical  in  its  lessons  of  Christian 
experience.  Of  course  there  were  great  differences  amongst  them  in 
their  gifts,  but  I  refer  to  their  common  faith  and  practice  as  preachers 
of  the  Word.  This  preaching  was  earnest.  These  first  preachers  were 
men  in  earnest — missionary  men — and  yet  men  who  prized  the  blessings 
of  sacred  learning.  Such  ministers  were  McMillan,  Tait,  Hughes, 
Macurdy,  McPherrin  and  others  of  the  earlier  generation  of  Western 
Pennsylvania  preachers.  I  need  not  specify  also  the  names  of 
Herron,  Brown,  Jennings,  Swift,  and  many  others,  who  have  entered 
into  rest,  but  who  can  never  be  forgotten.  The  venerable  name  of 
Dr.  Swift  will  here  come  into  the  thoughts  of  us  all.  He  was  not  only 
the  founder  of  our  Church  work  in  foreign  missions,  but  he  was  the 
first  instructor  in  theology  in  this  Seminary.  So  of  Dr.  Herron,  one 
of  the  noblest  of  men,  closely  connected  with  both  the  Seminary  and 
the  Missionary  Committee.  The  character  and  services  of  these  men 
have  been  well  described  in  the  Me7norial  Volu77iey  and  in  the  Mmutes 
of  the  SyTiod  of  Pittsburgh  from  1802  to  1832,  books  which  ought  to 
be  found  in  every  church  library  in  the  bounds  of  the  old  Synod. 


AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


5 


These  works  show  the  large  place  occupied  by  this  theological  school  and 
by  our  foreign  missionary  work  in  the  thoughts  and  sympathies  of  our 
people.  They  show  their  earnest  piety  developed  actively  in  domestic 
and  foreign  missions.  The  Indian  missionary  work  was  then  as  it  is 
still  in  its  nature  essentially  foreign  work,  and  I  think  this  Synod  may 
fairly  claim  the  credit  of  having  entered  on  this  work  years  before  the 
movement  took  place,  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the 
American  Board.  Here  was  its  Board  of  Trust,  or  Administrative 
Committee ;  its  missionary  periodical ;  its  regular  collections ;  its 
missionaries  in  the  field.  If  these  missions  were  not  as  encouraging 
as  was  expected,  it  may  be  ascribed  partly  to  an  error  in  their  plans, 
that  of  trying  to  conduct  this  Indian  foreign  work  in  a  method  better 
adapted  to  domestic  than  to  foreign  missions, — that  of  the  temporary 
employment  of  ministers  as  missionaries  rather  than  appointing  them 
to  a  work  for  life.  But  the  principle  of  action  was  right  and  wise, — 
alike  honoring  to  God  and  benevolent  to  men,  combining  the  united 
strength  of  numbers,  and  securing  the  supervision  of  the  Church, — the 
only  permanent  living  organization  in  this  world, — so  that  we  do  not 
wonder  when  we  see  the  missionary  piety  of  our  people  founding 
schools,  colleges,  and  this  Theological  Seminary,  and  then  send¬ 
ing  forth  the  well-qualified  laborers  to  their  work.  Well  may  we 
rejoice  that  our  Seminary  and  so  largely  our  foreign  missions  were  born 
of  such  parentage. 

Their  common  origin  carries  our  thoughts  to  the  meetings  of  the 
Synod  over  in  the  neighboring  city,  and  there  too  we  find  the  home  of 
both  for  some  years,  in  their  administration.  It  was  the  humble  but 
pleasant  little  room  in  the  rear  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  known 
as  its  Session-Room — a  room  slightly  irregular  in  form,  and  about  half 
the  size  of  the  Session -Room  now  in  the  same  place.  There  the  first 
Seminary  recitations  were  heard,  and  there  did  the  Executive  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  ^‘meet  statedly  on 
the  first  Monday  of  each  month,  at  2  o’clock,  P.  M,” — agreeably  to  a 
Minute  in  the  hand-writing  of  Dr.  Swift.  Some  of  us  well  remember 
that  little  room.  Its  windows  looked  out  on  graves,  white  under  the 


6 


WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


snow  of  winter,  green  with  the  grass  of  summer,  reminding  us  of  our 
own  mortality,  yet  in  many  cases  speaking  to  us  of  the  hope  of  immor¬ 
tality  as  a  blessed  hope  to  be  cherished  by  us  and  to  be  published 
among  all  nations. 

We  may  not  pass  from  our  tribute  to  the  missionary  piety  which 
founded  these  institutions,  without  noting  the  generous  spirit  which  led 
to  the  transfer  of  the  foreign  work  to  the  General  Assembly,  as  a  like 
transfer  had  been  made  a  few  years  before  to  the  Assembly’s  Domestic 
Board  of  the  Synod’s  home  work.  This  change  must  have  caused  regret, 
and  even  solicitude,  to  the  friends  of  foreign  missions  here,  as  the 
times  then  were  passing;  but  their  faith  stood  the  test  nobly;  indeed 
they  were  filled  with  gratitude  at  seeing  their  principles  and  their 
work  accredited  by  their  brethren  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  and 
their  hearts  would  have  glowed  with  new  thanksgiving  if  they  could 
have  seen  the  sight  which  our  eyes  witness  of  the  whole  Church 
endorsing  and  adopting  their  principles  and  measures.  We  all  now 
stand  together  in  our  faith  that  the  Church  is  a  missionary  society, 
whose  members  are  all  our  Christian  people.  If  we  have  not  yet  all 
reached  this  ideal  standard,  we  are  pressing  towards  it ;  and  so  we 
may  feel  assured  that  the  blessing  of  our  Saviour’s  presence  will  be 
with  us  in  times  to  come  as  in  times  past.  And  yet  times  change ;  it 
is  not  easy  to  look  out  on  the  Christian  world  of  these  days  without 
feelings  of  anxiety  as  to  many  great  interests.  But  if  in  our  Seminary 
and  our  Missionary  concerns  we  should  be  called  to  witness  any  falling 
away  from  the  old  foundations;  if  we  should  see  our  foreign  mis¬ 
sionary  work  regarded  as  not  ordained  church  work,  conducted  in  a 
broad-church  policy  or  in  sensational  methods,  or  administered  for  the 
benefit  of  men  not  disinterested  in  their  motives,  whether  missionaries 
or  executive  officers,  then  I  trust  the  sons  of  this  old  Synod  will  rise 
up  in  the  stead  of  their  fathers  and  place  this  work  where  it  stood  here 
forty  years  ago.  It  is  the  old  sacred  work  of  the  apostles  and  martyrs, 
and  the  new  holy  work  of  every  age,  until  it  is  finished  and  our  Lord 
shall  reign  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Now,  as  I  under¬ 
stand  the  case,  this  reference  to  the  founders  and  supporters  of  this 


AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


7 


Seminary  will  set  forth  its  “zeal  and  influence  in  Foreign  Missions.” 
You  see  the  men.  You  know  what  their  work  must  be.  You  see  the 
spring  of  their  action,  and  you  can  judge  of  its  movement,  and  can 
understand  how  this  cause  was  always  held  in  honor  here.  You  would 
feel  disappointed  indeed,  if  you  saw  none  of  the  students  going  forth 
to  labor  in  the  foreign  field. 

This  brief  statement  enables  us  to  understand  also  one  of  the  good 
effects  of  the  connection  between  these  two  great  interests — the  home 
results  of  the  case.  The  going  out  as  missionaries  of  some  of  the 
students  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  the  churches.  Some  there  are, 
indeed,  who  ask,  “  To  what  purpose  is  this  waste  ?”  They  see  a  choice 
young  man,  or  a  young  woman  of  culture  and  loveliness,  going  to  live 
and  labor  among  ignorant  and  debased  people  in  Africa  or  among  the 
Laos,  and  they  think  these  lives  are  thrown  away.  We  stop  not  to 
argue  the  case,  only  asking  in  return.  Did  not  our  Saviour  come  down 
to  live  and  labor  and  die  for  sinful  and  guilty  men,  in  his  sight  all 
repulsive  and  degraded  ?  But  suppose  these  missionaries  had  never 
gone  abroad,  suppose  these  familiar  names  of  Lodiana,  Corisco,  and 
Petchaburi  had  never  been  heard  of  by  our  Christian  people,  our  con¬ 
victions  of  benevolent  duty  would  have  lacked  an  element  of  power 
and  sacred  emotion.  Suppose  that  our  brethren  had  not  been  put  to 
death  in  the  rebellion  of  the  Sepoys,  our  Christian  sympathies  would 
have  been  less  tender  and  Christ-like, — our  sense  of  the  Saviour’s  pre¬ 
sence  and  grace  would  have  been  less  impassioned  and  complete,  and 
the  fullness  of  his  blessing  would  not  have  been  poured  out  upon  our 
churches. 

II.  Passing  these  and  other  views,  let  us  now  look  at  the  missionaries 
and  their  work.  Here  we  may  note  some  statistics.  The  whole  num¬ 
ber  of  missionaries  sent  from  this  Seminary  to  foreign  missions  is  fifty- 
eight,  not  counting  two  or  three  who  went  to  Texas  before  its  admis¬ 
sion  to  the  Union,  where  the  work  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  essentially 
in  the  line  of  Domestic  Missions.  But  this  number  includes  those  who 
went  to  the  Indians,  as  missionary  work  for  them,  if  rightly  conducted. 


8 


WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


is  substantially  the  same  as  work  in  Africa  or  China.  Of  these  fifty- 
eight  brethren,  nearly  one-third  have  been  led  by  various  causes  to 
return  to  this  country.  Twelve  have  been  removed  by  death,  to  whose 
memory  we  will  return  further  on ;  but  keeping  now  to  the  statistics, 
we  may  note  that  the  rate  of  mortality  here,  as  also  at  Princeton,  is 
slightly  less  among  the  foreign  missionary  alumni,  than  among  the 
graduates  in  general.  This  fact  is  but  what  might  be  expected,  con¬ 
sidering  the  care  given  to  the  selection  of  men  adapted  to  the  climate 
of  the  countries  respectively  in  which  they  are  to  spend  their  days. 
It  is  a  cause  of  gratitude  to  find  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole 
number  are  yet  in  the  field  of  labor.  Still  further,  as  showing  the 
relative  number  who  have  entered  on  foreign  ^service,  we  may  divide 
the  half  century  into  three  periods.  In  the  first,  from  1827  to  1843, 
the  whole  number  of  students  was  228,  and  of  foreign  missionaries  17 
— or  one  in  thirteen  nearly.  From  1844  to  i860,  the  returns  were 
523  and  27 — or  one  in  nineteen  nearly.  And  from  1861  to  1876,  the 
numbers  were  419  and  15 — or  only  one  in  nearly  twenty-eight.  This 
comparative  statement  furnishes  materials  for  earnest .  thought,  and 
perhaps  for  somewhat  discouraging  inferences.  But  many  things 
have  to  be  considered  before  one  can  reach  a  conclusion  in  such 
matters;  and  at  any  rate,  I  do  not  wish  now  to  pursue  this  point.* * 


*  Some  of  the  friends  of  missions  have  favored  the  appointment  of  a  missionary  Pro¬ 
fessorship  or  Lectureship,  in  order  to  secure  greater  interest  in  the  cause  of  missions.  A 
Professorship  would  give  its  incumbent  a  status  not  to  be  enjoyed  by  a  Lectureship — a  place 
in  the  faculty,  a  permanent  chair,  and  the  influence  growing  out  of  continued  acquaintance. 
A  Lectureship,  especially  if  it  contemplated  itinerant  service,  visiting  all  the  Seminaries, 
delivering  some  lectures  at  each,  would  result  practically  in  a  limited  range  of  study  and 
of  topics.  A  Professorship  would  seem  to  be  preferable  to  a  Lectureship. 

Either  would  have  to  contend  with  certain  difficulties  : 

1.  The  limited  time  available.  Even  now  it  is  difficult  to  secure  time  for  the  lectures  of 

* 

all  the  Professors. 

2.  A  few  lectures,  all  that  could  be  given,  would  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  sub¬ 
ject.  The  cause  of  foreign  missions  is  one  of  many  relations  and  wide  range.  It  has  a 
home  side,  with  its  various  theories  and  its  many  practical  duties.  Its  foreign  department 
embraces  matters  of  varying  interest  in  every  different  country,  and  such  as  extend  from 


AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


9 


If  we  follow  the  brethren  to  their  various  fields  of  labor,  we  find 
that  seven  of  them  went  to  the  Indians,  of  whom  only  two  are  now  in 
the  field ;  two  went  to  Africa,  both  of  whom  early  entered  into  rest ; 
nineteen  went  to  India,  five  to  Siam,  twelve  to  China,  one  to  Japan, 
eight  to  South  America,  one  to  Mexico,  one  to  the  Jews,  and  one  to 
Greece,  in  his  purpose,  though  called  to  a  better  country  before  he  left 
our  shores.  The  General  Catalogue  does  not  fill  its  first  page  of  names 
without  printing  several  of  them  in  italics.  Most  of  the  names  on  this 
page  were  members  of  churches  in  the  old  Synod  ;  so  were  most  of  the 
devoted  women  who  went  abroad  as  the  wives  of  the  earlier  alumni 
missionaries.  The  first  two  brethren  sent  as  missionaries  were  not 
indeed  students  of  this  Seminary,  for  our  Missionary  Society  thus  early 
showed  its  wide  relations  to  the  whole  church,  but  the  first  two  mis¬ 
sionaries  appointed  by  the  Society  were  students  of  this  school,  and 
were  appointed  in  January,  1832,  several  months  before  any  from  other 
Seminaries. 

the  corner-stone  to  the  top  stone, — preaching,  education,  training  native  ministers,  trans¬ 
lations  and  all  the  work  of  the  press,  organization  of  churches  and  self-support  of  their 
ministers.  These  are  subject  to  modification  by  peculiarities  of  race,  language,  religion 
&c.  No  Lecturer  for  all  the  Seminaries,  no  single  Professor  even  for  each  Seminary , 
could  easily  do  justice  to  such  a  vast  and  varied  work.  A  lecture  on  Buddhism,  another 
on  Brahmanism,  and  another  on  Mohammedanism — all  very  well  in  their  place — would 
not  begin  to  fulfill  the  demands  of  the  case. 

3.  If  some  measure  of  special  interest  were  awakened  by  a  Professor  or  a  Lecturer,  it  would 
not  only  be  of  narrow  range,  as  just  shown,  but  it  would  be  at  the  risk  of  great  loss  to 
the  cause  of  missions.  The  regular  Professors  would  be  likely  to  pass  by  missionary 
topics,  and  leave  them  to  the  Missionary  Lecturer.  The  practical  result  would  be  such 
as  follow  the  work  of  a  specialist;  the  many-sided  views  of  other  minds  would  be  seldom 
given.  As  the  case  now  stands,  each  Professor  is  expected  to  present  the  evangelistic 
features  of  his  chair — thus  securing  a  wide  and  comprehensive  treatment  of  the  subject. 

4.  Experience  seems  to  show  that  special  lectures  on  Missions  may  easily  result  in 
failure.  On  the  other  hand,  see  the  influence  exerted  for  this  cause  by  Dr.  A.  Alexander 
and  others,  in  their  usual  course  of  instruction  and  example. 

These  are  but  hints,  as  are  some  paragraphs  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Alumni  of 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  a  year  ago,  and  also  an  article  on  the  Training  of 
Missionaries  in  the  Biblical  Repertory  of  January,  1867.  The  subject  is  one  that  is 
worthy  of  careful  study. — May^  iS’j'j. 


lo 


WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Our  next  step  takes  us  to  the  work  of  the  missionaries.  You  see 
them  laboring  for  Christ  among  the  Indian  tribes,  in  Western  Africa, 
India,  Siam,  China,  Japan,  among  the  Chinese  in  California,  in  Brazil, 
the  United  States  of  Colombia,  and  Mexico.  The  population  of  these 
various' countries  maybe  estimated  at  about  700,000,000,  or  one-half  of 
the  human  family,  and  the  greater  part  of  this  vast  multitude  has  become 
accessible  to  missionaries  since  this  Seminary  was  founded.  The  two 
most  densely  inhabited  countries,  India  and  China,  and  some  of  the 
smallest  tribes,  are  in  the  missions  occupied  by  these  brethren — 
400,000,000  of  the  Chinese,  and  1000  Omaha  Indians;  such  is  the 
diverse  ordering  of  Providence.  We  must  not  despise  the  few  lost 
sheep  in  the  wilderness,  nor  be  discouraged  at  the  greatness  of  the 
harvest  in  the  multitudinous  nations  of  the  East.  Nor  need  our  mis¬ 
sionary  brethren  hesitate  to  follow  the  guidance  which  takes  them  into 
either  field.  John  Newton  said  that  if  two  angels  were  sent  down  from 
heaven,  one  to  rule  a  kingdom,  the  other  to  sweep  the  streets  of  its 
principal  city,  they  would  come  with  equal  pleasure. 

If  we  consider  the  languages  and  dialects  in  use  in  these  nations  and 
tribes,  we  find  over  twenty,  of  which  our  brethren  must  learn  each  at  least 
one — their  first  occupation,  often  dry  and  difficult ;  but  it  opens  the 
door  to  the  minds  of  the  people.  Some  of  our  brethren  abroad  stand 
high  in  native  scholarship.  Dr.  Newton  is,  I  suppose,  the  best  Gur- 
mukhi  scholar  living,  and  to  him  we  are  indebted  chiefly  for  the 
Dictionary  of  the  Gurmukhi  language,  and  for  the  translations  of  the 
Scriptures  in  it.  In  other  countries  many  valuable  contributions  have 
been  made  by  these  missionaries  to  this  department  of  knowledge. 

After  learning  the  language,  then  follows  the  life-work  of  all  true 

missionaries,  that  of  preaching  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  to 

souls  depraved,  perishing,  even  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sin.  This 

work  is  one  and  ever  the  same,  the  sacred  work  of  Apostles  and  of 

true  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  all  ages.  Yet,  if  we  would  rightly 

understand  it,  we  must  keep  in  mind  its  varied  forms.  In  general,  it 

\ 

is  preaching  in  meetings  of  many  or  few,  it  is  teaching  children  and 
youth,  it  is  preparing  and  printing  translations  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 


AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


1 1 

and  other  Christian  books,  it  is  training  native  converts  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry  among  their  own  people.  It  is  not  labor  in  vain.  It 
results  by  the  blessing  of  God  in  souls  converted,  in  churches  gathered, 
in  the  settlement  of  native  pastors,  in  the  translation  of  redeemed 
spirits  to  the  heavenly  world — often  such  as  have  been  purified  in  the 
fires  of  persecution.  These  greatest  results  may  not  in  all  cases  be 
achieved  for  many  years,  but  in  all  cases  gospel  seed  is  sown,  gospel 
leaven  is  implanted,  and  the  time  of  life  from  the  dead  is  drawing  on 
apace.  No  matter  how  poor,  how  ignorant,  how  low  down  in  the 
scale  of  humanity,  the  present  generation  of  the  unevangelized  are  not 
,  worse  than  others  who  have  been  lifted  up  by  the  gospel  and  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  eminence  in  social  culture,  intelligence,  morality, 
and  Christian  excellence.  Even  so  shall  it  be  in  many  Indian  tribes, 
in  many  dark  places  of  Africa,  in  all  the  thronged  cities  of  India  and 
China.  It  is  this  work  in  which  our  brethren  are  engaged,  and  we 
almost  envy  them  their  great  privilege  of  being  so  employed. 

If  time  permitted  we  might  refer  to  some  of  the  distinctive  aspects 
of  each  of  the  fields  in  which  our  brethren  are  at  work,  but  it  is  only 
the  briefest  reference  we  can  make  to  them.  Here  is  the  Indian  mis¬ 
sionary  work,  which  from  the  earliest  settlement  of  these  cis- 
Alleghany  regions  enlisted  the  active  sympathies  and  labors  of  our 
Christian  people.  It  is  now  a  work  to  be  performed  in  a  critical  period 
of  Indian  life,  and  it  is  somewhat  discouraging  to  find  that  only  two 
of  our  alumni  are  remaining  in  this  service,  both  of  them  now  aged 
men.  When  we  turn  to  another  part. of  the  great  field,  where  dark¬ 
ness  has  long  reigned,  we  are  impressed  with  the  fact  that  but  two  of 
our  brethren  went  to  Africa,  and  after  a  short  time  of  earnest  work 
they  both  entered  there  into  rest.  We  mourn  over  the  early  departure 
from  this  life  of  John  Cloud  and  George  Pauli.  They  were  devoted 
and  noble  men.  We  do  not  believe  that  they  lived  and  died  in  vain. 
Their  African  graves  speak  to  us,  and  so  does  the  remembrance  of  their 
loving  and  earnest  piety.  We  may  fear  that  their  fervent  zeal  outran 
their  prudence  in  meeting  climatic  risks ;  but  the  conditions  of  African 
work  are  now  better  understood,  and  life  there  may  be  preserved  as  in 


WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


I  2 

most  other  countries.  We  trust  our  beloved  Seminary  is  yet  to  have 
representatives  in  this  field — specially  connected  as  it  is  with  our  own 
country,  and  having  peculiar  claims  on  our  Christian  sympathy. 

As  we  follow  these  thoughts,  specifying  only  countries  in  which 
some  of  our  alumni  met  their  hour  of  death,  and  mentioning  by  name 
only  those  who  have  thus  gone  before  us,  we  recall  the  bright  face  of 
Mr.  Staicos,  who  died  before  he  embarked  for  Greece,  his  native 
country.  We  remember  Mr.  Samuel  Sharpe,  who  now  sleeps  in  Bogota, 
a  devoted  brother,  whose  promise  of  most  useful  service  was  early  dis¬ 
appointed, — rather,  we  should  say,  was  early  fulfilled  in  the  world  above. 
We  recall  to  memory  the  two  brethren  who  had  given  their  lives  to 
China — Messrs.  Orr  and  Green.  All  who  knew  them  would  bear 
willing  testimony  to  their  being  earnest,  faithful  brethren,  men  highly 
esteemed  and  worthy  of  being  held  in  honor  as  ministers  and  as  mis¬ 
sionaries.  Their  good  record  shows  that  missionaries,  brought  back 
to  their  native  country  against  their  choice,  may  often  be  permitted  to 
be  very  useful  in  the  ministry  at  home. 

It  is  when  we  turn  to  India  that  we  find  in  our  Catalogue  the  first 
starred  name  amongst  our  foreign  missionaries,  that  of  my  esteemed 
class-mate  and  missionary  colleague,  William  Reed.  He  was  a  sincere 
and  good  man,  devoted  to  the  cause,  well  fitted  by  gifts  of  nature  and 
grace  to  be  a  useful  and  practical  laborer ;  but  he  had  not  entered  fully 
on  his  long -desired  work  when  the  failure  of  his  health  arrested  his 
progress.  Then  followed  his  embarking  for  this  country,  under  the 
impression  that  he  might  here  live  for  several  years ;  but  his  voyage 
ended  in  his  peaceful  departure  to  a  better  country,  and  from  its  rest¬ 
ing-place  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal  his  glorified  form  shall  rise  when  the 
sea  gives  up  its  dead.  More  than  twenty  years  later  the  terrible  rebel¬ 
lion  of  the  Sepoys  swept  from  the  earth  in  a  tempest  of  wicked  passion 
hundreds  of  foreign  residents  in  India;  many  of  the  strong  men, 
many  of  the  best  women,  many  dear  little  children  were  cut  down  by 
the  pitiless  insurgents.  All  our  own  brethren  and  their  families  were 
for  several  months  in  extreme  peril,  but  through  the  mercy  of  God  all 
escaped  a  violent  death,  many  times  apparently  inevitable,  all  except- 


AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


13 


ing  four  families,  those  of  Messrs.  Freeman,  Campbell,  Johnson  and 
McMullin.  Of  these,  Messrs.  Campbell  and  Johnson  were  students 
of  this  Seminary.  They  were  choice  and  devoted  laborers,  and  their 
wives  were  like-minded.  How  was  the  heart  of  our  whole  Church 
moved  to  its  depths  by  this  great  bereavement !  Resuming  these 
notices,  we  next  come  to  the  name  of  Mr.  Crane,  who  went  to  India 
under  the  American  Board,  but  was  compelled  to  return  to  this  country 
after  a  few  years  on  account  of  his  health.  Here  he  continued  in  the 
work  of  his  Lord  until  he  departed  this  life  in  1856.  Speaking  of  him 
without  personal  knowledge,  I  yet  feel  persuaded  that  he  was  a  true  and 
faithful  missionary  and  minister.  The  next  name  that  rises  before  us 
is  that  of  Mr.  Fullerton,  who  died  in  India  in  1865.  Few  men  ever 
left  the  Seminary,  few  men  ever  served  the  Saviour  as  missionaries, 
who  held  a  higher  place  in  the  affections  of  their  brethren.  Of  fine 
mental  powers,  of  genial  social  disposition,  of  warm  affections,  all 
lighted  up  by  a  joyous  temperament,  he  was  an  earnest  and  whole¬ 
hearted  servant  of  Christ,  and  a  most  efficient  and  successful  laborer. 
His  letters  describing  his  visit  to  the  ruins  of  the  Futtehgurh  missionary 
station  and  his  interviews  with  the  native  Christian  brethren  after  the 
Sepoy  Rebellion,  are  most  graphic  and  touching.  It  is  a  wonder  that 
they  have  not  long  since  been  re-printed,  as  a  volume  for  our  Sabbath- 
school  libraries.  As  we  think  of  Mr.  Fullerton  and  so  many  others 
called  away  in  the  midst  of  their  days  and  of  their  labors  for  Christ 
and  their  fellow-men,  we  can  only  say,  ‘^Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it 
seemed  good  in  thy  sight  !”  The  last  name  on  this  list  of  departed 
brethren  is  that  of  Dr.  Warren,  of  whose  death  at  Gwalior,  India,  we 
heard  but  a  few  days  ago.  He  counted  it  a  privilege  to  go  back  to 
his  missionary  work,  after  having  been  led  by  Providence  to  spend 
several  years  in  the  home  ministry  of  the  Church.  Those  who  have 
read  his  book  on  India,  published  by  our  Board  of  Publication,  will 
receive  a  most  favorable  impression  of'  his  ability,  which  was  much 
above  the  ordinary  grade,  of  his  varied  gifts  of  service,  of  his  genial 
temperament,  and  especially  of  his  sincere  labor  for  Christ  and  his 
fellow-men.  He  translated  FlavePs  Fountain  of  Life  and  Hodge’s 


14 


WESTERN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Way  of  Life  into  Hindustani,  and  prepared  other  works ;  but  his  little 
memoirs  of  two  native  converts,  Poor  Blind  Sally  and  Jutni,  were  per¬ 
haps  more  attractive.  It  was  touching  indeed  to  read  of  Jutni’s  dying 
hours — a  young  Hindu  wife  and  mother  borne  up  above  the  sorrow  of 
separation  from  her  friends  and  above  the  fear  of  dying.  “I  know 
Christ,”  she  said,  ‘‘and  can  fully  and  completely  trust  Him  in  all  things. 
He  keeps  my  mind  in  perfect  peace,”  and  so  she  entered  into  rest. 
Her  missionary  friend  has  now  met  her  again  in  the  Saviour’s  presence. 

Here  we  might  close  these  brief  notices  of  departed  missionaries, 
who  went  forth  from  this  school  of  the  prophets.  Of  those  still  living 
in  various  missionary  countries,  we  forbear  to  speak,  though  their 
record  is  one  that  we  need  not  be  ashamed  of, — rather  it  is  in  general 
one  that  is  worthy  of  our  admiration.  But  it  may  be  allowed,  and 
our  best  feelings  prompt  us  all,  I  feel  sure,  to  pay  a  brief  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  the  Christian  women  who  went  forth  as  missionaries,  and 
who  have  finished  their  course.  We  find  the  names  of  eleven  of  these 
elect  ladies,  the  wives  of  missionaries  from  this  Seminary,  most  of 
them  born  and  brought  up  in  the  churches  of  this  region.  We  have 
called  to  remembrance  their  history,  their  character,  even  their  looks 
as  we  have  seen  them  going  out  to  their  distant  fields,  and  some  of 
them  as  they  returned  to  end  their  days  here  at  home.  We  would  use 
no  indiscriminate  language  of  praise ;  they  had  their  different  gifts, 
their  varied  culture,  their  diversified  range  of  social  enjoyment ;  and 
they  would  all  have  themselves  confessed  imperfections  which  their 
friends  seldom  saw ;  but  take  them  as  they  were,  and  I  think  they  were 
a  noble  company  of  Christian  women,  and  as  missionaries  they  were 
worthy  of  all  honor  and  love.  The  Church  may  well  thank  God  for 
the  grace  given  to  them.  This  Seminary  may  point  to  them  as  invalu¬ 
able  co-laborers  with  its  alumni  abroad.  Their  husbands  will  surely 
praise  them.  To  one  of  these  for  more  than  forty  years  the  memory  of 
his  departed  wife  has  been  a  benediction,  and  a  cherished  incentive  to 
continued  labor  in  the  cause  of  missions.  For  this  cause  may  we  ever 
have  the  se:  vice  of  consecrated,  spiritually-minded  Christian  women, — 
adorned  with  the  gifts  of  education  and  refined  culture,  but  most  of 


AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


15 


all  with  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which  in  the  sight 
of  God  is  of  great  price  ! 

We  have  thus  glanced  at  the  beginning  and  the  progress  of  the 
foreign  missionary  cause  as  connected  with  this  Theological  Seminary. 
Imperfect  as  this  sketch  has  been,  it  has  yet  given  us  some  impression 
of  the  grace  of  God  as  displayed  in  the  ordering  of  events,  in  the  piety 
of  his  people,  and  in  the  lives  and  labors  of  many  of  his  servants.  We 
are  filled  with  gratitude  for  what  God  hath  wrought  for  the  Church  and 
for  the  world  in  connection  with  this  Theological  Seminary.  And  we 
are  led  to  indulge  high  hopes  of  future  and  wide-spread  usefulness  from 
these  Old  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  churches  and  from  this  School  of  minis¬ 
terial  training,  always  chiefly  supported  by  their  men  and  means.  We 
are  brought  back,  therefore,  to  the  old  Synod,  its  churches,  its  families, 
its  sons  and  its  daughters,  and  in  their  piety  we  see  one  of  the  greatest 
means  which  God  in  his  grace  has  appointed  f6r  the  conversion  of  the 
world.  Here  in  this  home  of  Presbyterianism,  amongst  a  people  homo¬ 
geneous,  earnest,  trained  in  Christian  doctrine  and  experience  ;  here  in 
this  goodly  land  of  hills  and  valleys,  of  forests  and  fields,  of  wealth  in  the 
soil  and  treasures  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  what  may  not  this  school 
of  the  prophets  do,  what  may  not  this  cause  of  missions  .do,  if  only 
the  spirit  of  the  fathers  rest  upon  their  children?  We  are  grateful  for 
the  past.  We  are  hopeful  for  the  future.  At  the  end  of  the  next  fifty 
years,  I  trust,  not  scores  but  hundreds  of  foreign  missionaries  will  be 
counted  as  alumni.  We  must  look  for  a  great  increase  of  laborers 
abroad.  The  home  field  must  be  thoroughly  cultivated,  but  it  is  fill¬ 
ing  up  with  laborers.  The  work  in  foreign  fields  is  only  begun.  In 
China  alone  all  the  alumni  of  this  Seminary  might  find  plenty  of  work 
to  do  for  Christ  and  for  souls.  What  we  most  need  is  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  from  on  high  upon  our  churches,  our  Seminaries,  and  our 
own  souls.  ^‘God  be  merciful  unto  us  and  bless  us;  and  cause  his 
face  to  shine  upon  us.  Selah.  That  thy  way  may  be  known  upon 
earth,  thy  saving  health  among  all  nations.  Let  the  people  praise 
thee,  O  God ;  let  all  the  people  praise  thee.  .  .  .  God  shall  bless  us ; 
and  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  fear  him.” 


